Zhong Nanshan (born 20 October 1936)[1] is a Chinesepulmonologist.[2] He was president of theChinese Medical Association from 2005 to 2009 and is currently the editor-in-chief of theJournal of Thoracic Disease.[2] Zhong was bestowed theMedal of the Republic, the highest honorary medal of the People's Republic of China, in August 2020.[3]
Zhong earned international fame for managing theSARS outbreak[4] and was renowned for refuting the official line which downplayed the severity of the crisis.[5] He was voted one of China's top 10 scientists in 2010.[6]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic which was first identified inWuhan,Hubei, Zhong was a leading advisor in managing the crisis, suggesting evidence-based control measures to contain the disease and sharing the successful treatment plan with the international community.[5][7] He was named byTime asone of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.[7]
Zhong was born on 20 October 1936 at theCentral Hospital inNanjing，Because the hospital is located south of Zhongshan in Nanjing, his parents named it "Nanshan" according to the location of his birthplace.,[1][8] though his family was fromFujian province.[9] He was educated atBeijing Medical University, where he finished his residency training in internal medicine.After graduating from university in 1960, Zhong Nanshan had few opportunities to participate in clinical medicine. He once taught medicine, worked as a worker, and edited the school newspaper until he was transferred back to the Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College in 1971.Zhong completed further training atSt Bartholomew's Hospital in London and theUniversity of Edinburgh Medical School between 1979 and 1981, graduating from theUniversity of Edinburgh Medical School with an MD in 1981.[2]
Zhong Nanshan was awarded the title of one of the first batch of national-level experts with outstanding contributions in 1984. Served as graduate tutor in 1985.In 1995, he became a doctoral supervisor. In May 1996, he was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Zhong became president of theChinese Thoracic Society in 2000 and became president of theChinese Medical Association in 2005. He is currently the director of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases and editor-in-chief of theJournal of Thoracic Disease.[2] Zhong discovered the relationship between protein malnutrition andCOPD and has developed a calibrated formula on energy consumption for patients with COPD.[8]
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When Zhong directed theGuangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases, they received the second case of aSARS patient as early as 20 December 2002. Over the next month, 28 similar cases were reported inZhongshan alone, and on 21 January 2003, Zhong and other doctors and researchers in related fields reported this disease at an emergency meeting and gave it the nameatypical pneumonia.[10]
On 28 January 2003, Zhong felt sick and discovered that he had caughtpneumonia. Concerned that the news that a leading researcher and doctor for respiratory diseases falling ill during the SARS outbreak would cause fear and panic for the general public, Zhong decided to not receive treatment in the hospital.[citation needed] Instead he returned home, hoping that it was not caused by SARS and that he could recover without treatment. With care from his wife,Li Shaofen, he managed to recover after eight days. After recovery he immediately returned to the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases to direct the fight against SARS. On 11 February 2003, at a press conference held by theGuangdong Department of Health, Zhong explained the disease and its symptoms, and calmed the public by asserting that it was "preventable" and "curable".[10]
Zhong, for the first time while treating SARS patients, employednon-invasive ventilation methods that increased the amount of oxygen that the patients could take in and alleviated pain. Zhong also insisted on proposing the use ofcortisone for the treating of patients experiencing severe conditions, which significantly lowered the death rate of severe patients to 13% and decreased the total treatment time.[citation needed]
The decision to use cortisone was politically controversial at the time. In February 2003 theChinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention had already published the authoritative view that normalChlamydia was the direct cause of atypical pneumonia and, as a result, the only legally prescribed way of treating SARS patients was to useantibiotics. Based on observations of hundreds of patients inGuangdong, Zhong was determined to advocate for the moderate usage of cortisone. Zhong said later in an interview that he knew this might bring dishonor and defamation, but he persisted because he trusted in his observations and scientific judgements regarding the disease.[10]
With the support of the Guangdong government and the positive results in Guangdong in the treating of SARS disease, Zhong's method was later used as the standard protocol for treating allSARS patients in China.[10]
When delegates led by Dr. Evans from theWorld Health Organization visited China in early April, Zhong presented the characteristics of SARS as well as the treatment and prevention method in China. Zhong's presentation was well-received and his methods were adopted around the world.[10]
In early January 2020, Zhong visitedWuhan, in response to a growing cluster of then-unidentified pneumonia cases, and was reassured by city health officials that the disease was controllable and preventable. On 20 January, however, he returned to Wuhan, to re-evaluate the situation, and came to the conclusion that the novel coronavirus was more transmissible than previously identified, and warned theCentral Committee of the Chinese Communist Party[11] that authorities in Wuhan were likely understating the severity of the outbreak, and on the same day, publicly announced on state television the same.[11] In later reporting of his state TV broadcast he recommended that "a quarantine period of 10 days to two weeks is very effective, so there will not be a large-scale infection as people travel back from their holidays" but also concluded with the prediction that "the virus outbreak may recede in a week to 10 days."
Zhong has compiled a coronavirus diagnosis and treatment protocol, and has made great contributions to the prevention and control of epidemics, treatment of severe cases, and COVID-19 research. In August 2020, he received from Chinese leaderXi Jinping theMedal of the Republic, the highest state honor, for his outstanding contribution to fighting the COVID-19 epidemic.[12]
During the pandemic, Zhong had promoted publicly[13] the usage of a controversial[14] traditional Chinese medicine ofLianhua Qingwen capsule for treating COVID-19 infection. Though later he had denied any commercial tie with the pharmaceutical company that supplies the capsule,[15] on 4 May 2021, an article fromRetraction Watch[16] showed that Zhong and his coworkers were financially tied to the Yiling Pharmaceutical company that supplies the capsule.
In 2020, Zhong worked withTencent to establish an AI Joint Lab to conduct research on disease screening, prevention, and outbreak warnings.[17] Zhong also worked on pandemic research projects withFoxconn andAlibaba Cloud.[17]
On 12 December 2020, theAffiliated High School of South China Normal University unveiled a bronze statue of Zhong Nanshan was unveiled on its 132nd anniversary.[23]
Zhong was an outstanding college athlete in the 1950s. The Beijing Municipal Track and Field Team attempted to recruit him as a full-time athlete, but he was determined to become a doctor and declined the offer. Through his sports connection, he was introduced toLi Shaofen [zh], a basketball player who was a member of theChina women's national basketball team for 13 years. And won the 1964 French "Four Nations" women's basketball championship. But because Li Shaofen was a member of the national women's basketball team at the time and could not get married, Zhong Nanshan waited for her for eight years. They married on 31 December 1963.[28] They have two children: son Zhong Weide, a physician, who is a doctor in the Urology Department of Guangzhou First People's Hospital and the absolute main force of the hospital's basketball team, and daughter Zhong Weiyue, a swimmer, once won the short course world championship.[29] His father, Zhong Shifan, is a doctor of medicine from the State University of New York and a pediatric medical expert. His mother, Liao Yueqin, graduated from Peking Union Medical College and is the founder of Guangdong Cancer Hospital.
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